Census figures give insight into Latino influence on SouthCoast

NEW BEDFORD — Although Bristol County is home to some 33,000 Latinos, they make up just 6 percent of the population, according to the most recent Census data. But if local numbers reflect national estimates in the decades to come, that number could swell to over 50,000 as the white population peaks.

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By SIMÃ"N RIOS

southcoasttoday.com

By SIMÃ"N RIOS

Posted Jun. 24, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 24, 2013 at 6:12 AM

By SIMÃ"N RIOS

Posted Jun. 24, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 24, 2013 at 6:12 AM

» Social News

NEW BEDFORD — Although Bristol County is home to some 33,000 Latinos, they make up just 6 percent of the population, according to the most recent Census data. But if local numbers reflect national estimates in the decades to come, that number could swell to over 50,000 as the white population peaks.

Mark Hugo Lopez, an economist at Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C., said the country's Latino population is set to increase dramatically in the decades to come.

"They will not be the size of the baby-boomer generation," said Lopez, who authored a recent study examining the diversity of the country's Hispanic population. "However, Hispanics will be a growing share of the nation's population, and by 2050 almost a third of all American will be of Hispanic origin."

That could be the most important demographic shift since Europeans outnumbered the Native American population. Pew forecasts that by 2050, whites will be outnumbered by minorities, totalling less than 50 percent.

If local trends are consistent with Pew estimates — which have the Latino population comprising as much as 29 percent of U.S. residents by 2050 — Bristol County's Latinos could increase by more than 40 percent.

Lopez's analysis breaks down the country's Latinos by national origin, demonstrating increased diversity among them. Mexicans are by far the most prominent group, representing over 64 percent of Latinos, followed by Puerto Ricans (9.5 percent), Salvadorans (3.8 percent) and Cubans (3.6 percent).

Bristol County's dominant Latino group is Puerto Ricans, who number 18,500. Puerto Ricans are followed by 2,700 Guatemalans, 1,900 Dominicans, 1,200 Salvadorans, and 8,700 Latinos from other countries.

The Pew study breaks down the various Latino groups on socioeconomic data, showing wide disparities between Latinos hailing from more or less developed countries. For example, 93 percent of Spaniards speak English, compared with 46 percent of Salvadorans, Guatemalans and Hondurans.

Household income shows a similar disparity. While the average Argentine household makes $55,000, at the bottom of the ladder are Hondurans, who take in $3,100. The difference in poverty rates between the two groups is even larger than the income gap, with 11 percent of Argentines living in poverty compared to 33 percent of Hondurans.

Helena DaSilva Hughes, executive director of the Immigrants' Assistance Center, said she has been at the organization over the course of the wave of Central American immigration to New Bedford.

"Do they need services? Absolutely," Hughes said. "We are constantly referring people to (other nonprofits) for fuel assistance, for housing. Even if they're undocumented, if they have U.S. born children they can apply for (help)."

Hughes said many of the immigrants face cultural barriers when they come to the country — like a woman who was deported for "disciplining" her children.